Slice the sausage and chop the vegetables - your dinner will get ready in slow cooker till you come back home in the night.

Ingredients

1

package (16 ounces) dried lima beans, sorted and rinsed

1

pound kielbasa sausage, cut into 1/4-inch slices

2

medium carrots, cut into 1/4-inch slices (1 cup)

2

medium stalks celery, cut into 1/4-inch slices (1 cup)

1

large onion, chopped (1 cup)

2

cloves garlic, finely chopped

6

cups water

1

teaspoon salt

1/2

teaspoon pepper

1

can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained

Directions

1Mix all ingredients except tomatoes in 5- to 6-quart slow cooker.

2Cover and cook on high heat setting 10 to 12 hours or until beans are tender.

3Stir in tomatoes.

4Cover and cook on high heat setting about 15 minutes or until hot.

Expert Tips

Kielbasa is a smoked sausage that is usually made of pork but sometimes has beef added.
"Kielbasa," "kielbasy" or "Polish sausage" are all names for this flavorful sausage. Use turkey kielbasa for a lower-fat soup.

You can used other dried beans for the limas, such as great Northern, navy, kidney or cannellini beans, and the cooking time will not change. Or use 2 cups of mixed dried beans by mixing different beans together to add a variety of shapes and color to the soup.

This recipe makes a big batch. Enjoy a meal now and freeze the remaining soup for later. If you freeze it in an airtight container, it will keep up to a month. When your mouth is watering for kielbasa and bean soup, just thaw it in the refrigerator and heat it.